The Wild Bunch (sound system)

The Wild Bunch were a sound system and loose collective of musicians and DJs based in the St Paul's, Montpelier and Bishopston districts of Bristol, England.

History

The group started to perform in 1983 as a sound system on the Bristol scene.[1] As pioneers of sound system culture they played all-nighters, clubs and abandoned warehouses.[2] In 1986, they played St Paul's Carnival and signed to 4th & B'way Records on Island Records imprint.[2]

Disintegration (1987-1989)

In 1987, the single Tearin Down The Avenue was released and the group toured Japan.[3][4] After the tour DJ Milo left to work in Japan.[4] The group would perform sound clashes against other sound systems, on new year's eve 1987 they clashed with Soul II Soul at St Barnabas crypt, Bristol.[5][6] In 1988, Friends & Countrymen was released. [7] However, by this time Robert Del Naja, Grant Marshall and Andrew Vowles had formed Massive Attack.[8] By 1989 the group was defunct.[1]:80

Post disbanding (1989 - present)

DJ Milo has lived and worked going between Japan and New York. In 2013, he performed at St Paul’s Carnival.[2][9]

Robert Del Naja, Grant Marshall and Andrew Vowles, continued with Massive Attack. However, differences between members saw Vowles leave in 1998 and Marshall in 2001. Marshall return to Massive Attack in 2007.

Nellee Hooper, who moved to London after the group's dissolution and worked as a producer and remixer for a number of major artists, including Madonna, U2, No Doubt, Garbage, Björk and others. He won the 1995 BRIT Award for Best Producer. He was also a member of Soul II Soul.[10]

Tricky performed with Massive Attack on their first and second full-length releases, Blue Lines and Protection respectively, before pursuing a successful solo career.

Claude Williams provided vocals on Massive Attack's Five Man Army released in 1991. In 2010, he was jailed for a series of robberies, for three years, alongside five other men.[11][12]

Musical style

The Wild Bunch were pioneers of amalgamating a very wide variety of genres.[13][14][15] Their shows mixed disparate styles including elements of punk, R&B and reggae. Further, it was their unique focus on slower rhythms and ambient electronic atmospheres that laid the foundations of Bristol sound, which later developed into the popular trip hop genre. They were key members of the Bristol underground scene.[16][17]

Members

The Wild Bunch is perhaps best known for having been one of the first prominent British DJ and vocalist collaborations:[18]

Influence

In 2015, Musician James Lavelle put The Wild Bunch's The Look of Love in his top ten British sound system classics that influenced him, calling it the record that 'The record that started it all.'[19]

The 2016 BBC documentary Unfinished: The Making of Massive Attack features the story of The Wild Bunch and the Bristol sound.[20]

References

  1. 1 2 Pride, Dominic (1995). "Trip Hop Steps Out". Billboard. New York (15 April): 1, 80. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/it-happened-here-the-wild-bunch-rock-bristol
  3. ↑ "The Wild Bunch - Tearin Down The Avenue". Discogs.
  4. 1 2 "Scans→NME Magazine Interview #1". MASSIVEATTACK.IE.
  5. ↑ "Just Because 026: Wild Bunch Vs Soul II Soul Flyer". 9 June 2011.
  6. ↑ Grundy, Gareth (14 June 2011). "Soul II Soul v the Wild Bunch". the Guardian.
  7. ↑ "The Wild Bunch - Friends & Countrymen". Discogs.
  8. ↑ Murray, Robin. "Massive Attack Talk Wild Bunch". Clash Music. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  9. ↑ Q, September 1991
  10. ↑ Glamour, Mikey. "Wild Bunch (Massive Attack) v Soul ll Soul Sound". Sound Cloud. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  11. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (6 December 2012). "Massive Attack: Blue Lines (remastered) – review". the Guardian.
  12. ↑ "'Ikea bag' store robbers jailed". 1 March 2010 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  13. ↑ "Bristol Time: The return of a trip-hop legacy".
  14. ↑ http://www.redbull.com/en/music/stories/1331600669946/it-happened-here-the-wild-bunch-rock-bristol
  15. ↑ BBC. "BBC - Radio 1 - Mary Anne Hobbs - Bristol Scene". www.bbc.co.uk.
  16. ↑ "Wild Bunch". Red Lines. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  17. ↑ "Bristol's The Wild Bunch". Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  18. ↑ "The Wild Bunch". Red Lines. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  19. ↑ https://www.dummymag.com/Read/the-10-best-british-sound-system-classics-according-to-james-lavelle
  20. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2017/10/unfinished:-the-making-of-massive-attack
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